Area: 97,754 sq km (37,743 sq mi) Population (2003 est.): 3,317,000 (including about 300,000 refugees in neighbouring countries) Capital: Monrovia Head of state and government: Presidents Charles Taylor and, from August 11, Moses Blah; and, from October 14, Chairman of the National Transitional Government Charles Gyude Bryant The three-year-old civil war that had gripped Liberia, killing or displacing thousands of citizens and contributing to the destabilization of the entire region, finally came to an end in 2003. In early February, Defense Minister Daniel Chea admitted that the armed forces were facing difficulties against the rebels because of an international weapons embargo. While government troops faced major shortages, rebels were apparently being supplied by neighbouring Guinea, which had ongoing border disputes with Liberia. In May the UN imposed an export ban on Liberian unsawn timber, further crippling the government’s ability to fund military actions. In June, as rebel...